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Shop's stilettos for girls aged 6


Maverick

As a *Parent* would you permit your 9 year old child to own/wear a pair?  

90 members have voted

  1. 1. As a *Parent* would you permit your 9 year old child to own/wear a pair?

    • Yes, Openly
      12
    • Yes, with reservations and rules.
      27
    • No, not at all
      50


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Welcome thoughts from all, especially parents.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3844857/Shops-stilettos-for-girls-aged-6.html

Shop's stilettos for girls aged 6

Mums rap 'sick' firm

By ALEX PEAKE and ROBIN PERRIE

Published: 30 Sep 2011

A SHOE chain was slammed yesterday for selling sexy stilettos with 5in heels — aimed at girls as young as SIX.

Horrified Sarah Shafi, 43, spotted the adult-sounding Queen of the Catwalk style while shopping with her seven-year-old daughter in the children's department at Priceless Shoes.

Posted Image Slammed ... Priceless Shoes

Posted Image High ... Katie, 9, tries heels

She said: "They look like the sort of thing a lapdancer would wear. It's utterly disgusting. I went to the shop to buy her some gold party shoes.

"These open-toed black stilettos were reduced from £16 to £7. They were size one, so I guess they are aimed at the six to eight years range.

"They look exactly like an adult pair that has been shrunk for the kids' market. I find it sick."

Sarah, of Leeds, added: "Also children's feet are still developing. They could end up deformed."

Another mum, Rachael Collins, was shocked after allowing daughter Katie to try on the shoes.

Katie, nine, of Wakefield, West Yorks, loved them — but Rachael, 26, said: "It's disgusting that they sell them to kids — it sends completely the wrong message."

There have been many complaints about clothes that sexualise children.

Movie star Tom Cruise and his wife Katie Holmes provoked an outcry when they let their five-year-old daughter Suri wear heels and lipstick.

In the UK, High Street chains Matalan, Primark and Tesco have all been attacked for stocking padded bras for little girls.

Priceless said that the shoe is actually from their very popular Tall & Small range which caters for women with smaller or bigger feet than the sizes usually provided by most High St retailers.

John Hood, Managing Director at Priceless, said: "The Ladies shoes involved had simply been placed back into the kids rack by mistake."

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Parents need to understand that while the child is growing high heels should be worn occasionally a most. There really is a risk of becoming permanently high heeled if the child is not done growing as the body will grow to accomodate the wearing of a high heel. Hold off till the late teens at least.

Shafted, the boots that is! View my gallery here http://www.hhplace.o...afteds-gallery/ or view my heeling thread here http://www.hhplace.org/topic/3850-new-pair-of-boots-starts-me-serious-street-heeling/ - Pm me if you want fashion advice or just need someone to talk to.

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I allow my 9 year old daughter to wear heels. The rules are nothing over 2.5 " and only in the living room and kitchen areas. She is not to wear them outside for any reason or to wear them to the basement. The basement rule is to keep her off the steps. So far she has done well adhering to the rules.

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What a typical non story story from the Sun.

'These open-toed black stilettos'... Er, the shoes are not open toed

'Aimed at girls as young as SIX'... Er, they were from the adult women section. My old flatmate has size 1.5 or 2 Uk feet. She is 34 years old.

I just had a quick look on Priceless' website. There were couple of girls shoes with 1.5 or 2 inch heels. The kind of thing girls would wear to a wedding or a party. No 5 inch heels. What a surprise.

"Another mum, Rachael Collins, was shocked after allowing daughter Katie to try on the shoes." Er... why did she then allow the Sun to print a photo of her daughter with a sultry look, wearing the offending shoes and a tiny pink skirt???????!!!!!!!!! I wonder if the Sun gave her some money for the photo?!!!!???!

Thanks to the Sun for alerting us to the dangers of reading poor quality newspapers. I can't see how a newspaper that prints a topless photo of a woman on page 3 every day, can possibly even begin to touch upon morals and the objectification of women and girls.

I wonder how much the shoe shop will make from little girls running into town to spend their pocket money on high heels? The shoes were £7 in the sale, and only £16 full price. I bet many kids get at least £10 a week for their pocket money these days.

Read this.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/mar/22/charlie-brooker-newspapers-dangerous-drug

Far more dangerous than a young girl having some fun in a shoe shop.

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I don't have kids but am close to a number of relative's and friend's kids; either way wouldn't allow higher heels as quoted in the poll until in secondary school. (10 / 11) Have seen young girls (around 10?) in 3 - 4" heels out shopping with family and looks wrong (sexual attraction etc) and can't be good for the still developing feet. Agree with Maninpumps about the 2.5" rule around the house for a nine year old and possibly special occasions. Doubt the ones in the photo are really 5", bearing in mind the tape measure is shoved deep into the sheep skin and there is at least a 3/4" hidden platform but none the less wouldn't consider appropriate for children. As stated by Priceless, were supposedly from their small / tall range for women, seemingly incorrectly placed on the shelves - one hopes this is not an unwritten policy to place in the girls section. R

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All she has to do is not buy them for her kid(s). Why does she have to get all bent out of shape(?)

I agree with "Shafted" and "maninpumps".

I also understand why parents would want to wait for a later age for their kid(s) to wear high heels out and about.

Thanks for posting.

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I think that the answer is already in the article:

Priceless said that the shoe is actually from their very popular Tall & Small range which caters for women with smaller or bigger feet than the sizes usually provided by most High St retailers.

Personally I think it's great that Priceless do shoes in larger and smaller sizes than usual - being a UK10 myself.

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The problem here is not the shoes or the Retailer.....it's the minds of the journalists who dreamed up the idea of putting a 6 year old in 5" heels....and the irresponsible publicity hungry Mother who allowed her daughter to be photographed in them......who no doubt got masses of lucrative modelling job offers as a result.

If that woman had simply wanted to complain on moral grounds....she would have contacted the Trading Standards Authority.....not the UK's leading trash rag.....!!

"Good Girls keep diaries....Bad Girls just don't have the time...!:icon_twisted:"

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Indeed. The whole thing actually looks like a typical journalistic trawl for stories. We don't even know whether the people actually exist or not, for all we know the girl pictured could have just been a model. The journalism aside, no I most definitely would not let a young daughter wear heels, no way. Apart from the sexualisation of pre-pubescent which I will deal with later, it is a health issue and one of bone formation. It's also a matter of safety too. I wouldn't let my daughter wear any kind of heel until she was ten or eleven and even then they were two inch block heels. When she finally finished school and started to earn her own money then as far as fashion choices went she could do what she liked. Totally unprompted, she quickly latched on the the idea that pencil skirts and heeled pumps was a good look for work (bless her!) and I can still see her hanging onto her boyfriend when she was walking in some 7" platform sandals on one occasion when we all went out for a family meal. All kids love to dress up and most households with kids in it will have a dressing up box. Most of those will have an old pair of mum's heels in them and those that do not will often have a girl who raids mum's shoe rack for a pair of heels. This is harmless fun. What would be bad is if a shoe vendor were to target heels at kids and normalise heel wearing for minors. Peer pressure will bring those heels out of the dressing up box and into the schoolroom and social situations with all kinds of repercussions. Not least of which young girls being harassed by older predatory males solely for their choice of footwear.

Graduate footwear designer able to advise and assist on modification and shoe making projects.

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Reading some of the comments was quite enlightening- Many were anti the mum for making such a fuss and critical in letting Katie pose in them. Removing any age issues, she did look comfortable in them, I therefore question "is she a practiced heeler" as I've said before I've seen young teens homeward from school in kitten heels that are just incapable of walking.. As with The Doc's rule I would concur, quite sensible, I may have included occasional special parties but mum would set the rule! My daughters just were not interested until later? You can not stop girls "finding and trying" anymore than than stopping us guys! Moral issues yes but I believe there is more press hype than sense here. Al

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The plot thickens... The main mum in the story, Sarah Shafi, has been on Come Dine With Me and is a Business Development Coach. I found this out after reading one of the comments on the Sun's webpage. Come Dine With Me is a programme on TV in the UK where people have dinner parties and get scored for their efforts by other people. The commentator has an acerbic wit and is very funny. Therefore, to appear on Come Dine With Me is not for the faint hearted. I just watched some of Come Dine With Me and she seems like a clued up woman. She likes moaning. I would not put it past her to have fabricated the 'Stilettos for kids' story to get a little cash and media attention. I also found her on Twitter, the shoes in her Twitter photo are not the ones in the Sun's photo.

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Well done detective Benno Thought there was some thing familiar with her, I've seen a few of the "dine" progs so I can more than guess a "plan" I'm sure as this is getting more juicy there is a curiosity now on what shoes she's showing on twitter? Al

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The shoes on Twitter were black peep toes. I presume that the Sun just found another pair of black heels and stuck a Sale label on them. I'd love to know the truth behind this tale. It's an eye opener and I already have my eyes open when reading the gutter rag tabloids.

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This has pissed me off so much i have left my own comment, read it before its probably taken down. Havent papers learnt anything especially since the phone hacking scandal.

Here is what i have written.....

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3844857/Shops-stilettos-for-girls-aged-6.html

PSJust noticed its awaiting approval although i can see it on the web site i can't tell if anyone else can so it may well not appear seeing it is critisizing them.

"Don't let the truth get in the way of a good story then eh The Sun, more sensational claptrap.

The mother in question has posted her story on her twitter page and the heels in question are not the same as the ones you feature in your story, the ones she bought were peep toed not closed toed and before you say that the heels pictured are illustrative to the story rather than the actual ones may i remind you of your caption "Shocked ... mum Sarah measures kids' 5in high heels" indicates these are the shoes bought, pure deception . This is nothing more than a stupid stunt to sell more papers and dress up a mix up in a shop into something more sordid like paedophilia shame on you The Sun and shame on you Ms Shafi for subjecting your daughter to this tacky stunt."

In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king!!!

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Yep its not even saying awaiting approval now, typical cowardly Sun copping out when its something they don't agree with, so much for free speech. I was thinking, maybe Stylo the parent company should take legal action against the sun and Mrs Shafi for slander or is it libel? Its obvious what Mrs Shafi done was cynical, i mean the likelyhood is that there was only one pair of shoes in this size 1 kids section put there by mistake by probably another customer, were there any on the other size 2 or size 3 childrens sections?..of course not. Did she bother to check the petite womens size 1, 2 and 3 sections where she would have found them in abundance?...of course not. This woman knew exactly what she was doing , what makes it all the more repugnant was have her daughter pose on a national newspaper in a short skirt and heels and putting her daughter through this ordeal , that to me is the most disgusting thing of all. I hope that priceless/ stylo decide to take it further (in all reality unlikely) if only to show these two sorry excuses (the sun and Mrs Shafi) up for what they are. GRRRR rant over. I have posted a picture of the real shoes taken from her twitter site, she has the appropriate twitter name of @rudewoman, too true! Sells bespoke tool and scissor pouches for the hair stylist market (amazing what you can find out on the net!) PS by some twist of fate i actually bought the shoes in the Sun picture, they have blue soles and a squared off toe, they are quite ropey really and wish i hadnt wasted my money on them!!! They have a heel height nearly an inch higher than the open toe ones so more deception there by the sun.

post-207-133522960717_thumb.jpg

In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king!!!

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I don't know exactly why, but the picture of the little girl in the pink outfit and stiletto heels bothered me. I have a daughter, now grown and with children of her own, who really didn't get into wearing high heels until her later years in high school and beyond. She played dress-up in her mom's high heels as many little girls did, but she never dressed in an outfit like the little girl in the picture and in high stiletto heels that were exactly her size. Our daughter modeled when she was in her late teens and early twenties and wore all types of high heels with her outfits. But as a very young girl, she never really asked to wear high heels outside of the house when we would go to the store, or to eat, or to church, etc.

I know I'm rambling, but the photo of that little girl in the stilettos stunned me a little. Am I over-reacting, or am I (hopefully) just a typical dad?

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This sounds like another British tabloid scheme to sell more papers and create more scandal in a country where scandals sell lots of newspapers. The problem with the "sexy shoes on the little girl" is that it messes with our senses. We want to attach a certain sex appeal to the style of the shoe but find it repugnant because it is worn by someone so young. If it were treated as just a costume, nothing more then someone's expression of fashion freedom, then it wouldn't be a news story. The mirror tells all and keeps no secrets. HappyinHeels:wavey:

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I don't know exactly why, but the picture of the little girl in the pink outfit and stiletto heels bothered me. I have a daughter, now grown and with children of her own, who really didn't get into wearing high heels until her later years in high school and beyond. She played dress-up in her mom's high heels as many little girls did, but she never dressed in an outfit like the little girl in the picture and in high stiletto heels that were exactly her size. Our daughter modeled when she was in her late teens and early twenties and wore all types of high heels with her outfits. But as a very young girl, she never really asked to wear high heels outside of the house when we would go to the store, or to eat, or to church, etc.

I know I'm rambling, but the photo of that little girl in the stilettos stunned me a little. Am I over-reacting, or am I (hopefully) just a typical dad?

Healthy concern from a sensible dad.....I'd say.

"Good Girls keep diaries....Bad Girls just don't have the time...!:icon_twisted:"

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I also have two daughters that now have children of their own and my experience with both of them and high heels is identical to PB's. They learned fashion from their mother and followed her lead when it came to wearing heels. I think my wife went with them to buy their first pair of heels when each was around 12 or 13. I think they were pumps with 2" heels that they wore to church, etc. Even today, neither one wears shoes with very high heels. Like their mother, they believe shoes are just another accessory to any outfit and as long as they match what they're wearing, the heel height is not important to them.

Being mentally comfortable in your own mind is the key to wearing heels in public.

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I was pretty indignant when I read the title, but from reading the actual story, and bearing in mind that it was in The Sun, I am inclined to believe that those were actually shoes for a small-footed woman rather than a child. Call me old-fashioned, but I think that at that age girls should be in trainers and have scabby knees.

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I don't know exactly why, but the picture of the little girl in the pink outfit and stiletto heels bothered me. ..............I know I'm rambling, but the photo of that little girl in the stilettos stunned me a little. Am I over-reacting, or am I (hopefully) just a typical dad?

I think that echo's my first thoughts as I wrote

(Removing any age issues, she did look comfortable in them, I therefore question "is she a practised heeler")

Now being wiser as to who mum is I would not be surprised to find out that said young lady already holds a portfolio, hence the pose that is too natural therefore disturbing.

Al

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I saw a preview for a show, I think called "Pagent Moms" (about ~6yr olds in beauty pagents), where the mom was saying, I said I'd never: - have her get a spray tan - have get get a pedicure - have her get hair extensions ... "So far, we've done them all..." I'm sure it's not that difficult to find at least one young girl who wears heels, or short skirts, or a lot of makeup, or anything else that most think they shouldn't be doing that young. 'One' certainly doesn't make for a pattern. In terms of marketing these things, I'm not sure you can stop it. For example in the US there's a store called Claire's: "International specialty retailer offering value-priced costume jewelry, accessories, and cosmetics to fashion-aware tweens, teens and young adults." On their website, in their makeup section, their current slogan is, "Go Glam". Are they saying saying it's okay for 12 yr olds to go around with smokey eyes? For shoes, I did a search, it said the average size for a 10yr old girl is US6. So a 10yr old could walk into just about any store that sells shoes, and buy the same 5" heels that anyone else can. They'll get carded if they try to buy alcohol or tobacco, but not a pair of platform pumps. Is there size differences between a woman who wears a size 0 (shoes, clothes, lingerie) and young girl? More than likely today, the young girl is probably larger. So if they are at a store that carries both sizes, I'm sure a petite size woman has occasional come across 'tween' clothes, and the young girl adult clothes in a small size.

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I had a friend who wasn't particularly tiny but was small enough to get into children's clothes. She'd often buy fashionable girl's clothes and save a bundle on VAT.

Graduate footwear designer able to advise and assist on modification and shoe making projects.

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Never mind the article in the Sun itself. The subject's very simple, really. We all know a direct link exists between high heels and sexuality. As a father I can only state:

Little girls have no place what so ever in this.

Period.

That's a little simplistic as all women were once little girls. It's only natural for little people to want to mimic big people.

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